“Say it again but without the scared part. I’m never going to tire of hearing you say that.”
She let out a small laugh of exasperation. “I love you, Matt.”
“Nothing to be scared of, nothing at all.” His eyes were still closed and he bit down on the side of his mouth before whispering, “Answer, please. I need an answer. Please.”
“Holy crap, you’re making my hands shake.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, too. “Yes. Yes, I will marry you.”
His mouth came back down on hers so fast it made her head spin, a long, deep kiss that wiped away all the pain and hurt of the last few weeks. A kiss that sealed the deal, that made everything perfect and was their new beginning.
“What happens if I wake up and all this is just a dream?” She ran a fingertip over his bottom lip until he bit it playfully and then rested his forehead on hers.
“You won’t, but I have a way to convince you.”
“Go on.”
“We go to bed, right now, and in the morning we’ll wake up together and…it won’t be a dream.” He brushed away the tear that had suddenly appeared at the corner of her eye with the pad of his thumb. “I’ll be here in your sacred place because you let me in and said I could stay because you want to marry me.”
Bubbles of joy and happy disbelief popped and buzzed all over the place inside her. “Sounds like a plan, but what if—”
He touched a fingertip to her mouth. “Sh, no buts, just wait and see tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow…”
His hands found hers and pressed them gently against his heart. “And then every morning for the rest of our lives.”